THUNDER BAY – The city is defending itself amid public backlash regarding its response to last week’s boil-water advisory.
During a Wednesday news conference, the city’s infrastructure and operations general manager Kerri Marshall said a media release was distributed within four hours following the initial failure at the Chamberlain Street Pumping Station.
That release advised north side residents that they may experience low water pressure, discoloured water or no water service.
All customers city-wide were then asked to limit water use whenever possible.
“Immediately after the precautionary boil water advisory was issued, in discussion with the health unit and the ministry of environment and climate change we talked about our approach and who those notices will be delivered to,” said Marshall.
The boil-water advisory notices were delivered in a strategic and organized fashion.
Those residents who were most impacted by the failure were made the top priority and received notices first.
More than 50 City representatives hand delivered precautionary notices over a 30-hour period to 11,000 customers within the effected zone.
Marshall said the public has since been advised through local media that the Thunder Bay District Health Unit has rescinded the boil-water advisory.
The hand delivered rescind notices will be delivered throughout the week.
City manager Norm Gale said actions taken by the City followed the established Emergency Response.
“City of Thunder Bay is well practiced in handling emergency events, we’ve seen a number of them in real time over the past few years and we also practice handling emergency events,” Gale said.
Following is a full background timeline regarding the city's response to the pumping station failure:
Thursday, May 12
• 3 am - A failure occurred at the Chamberlain Street Pumping Station. The certified water operator at the Bare Point Water Treatment Plant immediately responded to an alarm at the Station and dispatched additional staff to determine the cause and restore service.
• 3:20 am - The City’s Emergency Response Protocol was activated.
• 5:00 am - The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) were notified of the event.
• 7:20 am - The first Media Release was distributed advising residents in the north end of the City that they may experience low water pressure, discoloured water, or no water service. At this time all customers city-wide were also asked to limit water use wherever possible.
• 8:45 am - As an action item within the City’s Emergency Response Protocol, the City met with officials from the MOECC and the TBDHU.
• 10 am - The TBDHU issued a Precautionary Boil Water Advisory for customers in pressure Zone 2N due to low system pressure and provided direction on how the notice was to be distributed.
• 11 am - The City publicly communicated the precautionary Boil Water Advisory through traditional and social media, as well as hand delivered letters to affected customers by City and TBDHU staff.
Precautionary Boil Water Advisories were delivered by both the City and the TBDHU. The TBDHU delivered notices to the hospital, long-term care facilities, daycares, schools, and food establishments. More than 50 City representatives from the Environment Division, as well as Thunder Bay Fire Rescue, hand delivered Precautionary Boil Water Advisories to affected customers in pressure Zone 2N, totalling approximately 11,000 households.
Friday, May 13
• 9 am - the City publicly communicated that the Precautionary Boil Water Advisory would remain in effect for customers in pressure Zone 2N.
• 7:30 pm - Additional notice was communicated that the Precautionary Boil Water Advisory would remain in effect through the weekend. Hand delivered letters wrapped up in the evening.
• The first of two mandatory rounds of bacteriological sampling and testing were conducted.
Saturday, May 14
• Results of the first round of mandatory bacteriological sampling and testing were received. The analysis, performed by an independent, certified lab, confirmed passing results.
Sunday, May 15
• 4 pm - Results from the second round of testing were received, confirming that the series of samples taken on Saturday had passing results. The TBDHU confirmed the Precautionary Boil Water Advisory could be rescinded.
• 5 pm - The City publicly communicated that the Precautionary Boil Water Advisory was rescinded and indicated that delivery of rescind notices would commence on Monday, May 16.
Monday, May 16
• City representatives began to hand deliver rescind notices to affected customers and confirmed deliveries will continue to all affected customers through the week during regular business hours.
Tuesday, May 17
• The non-essential water use restrictions were lifted, and a Media Release was distributed.
